Fish Screen Cleaning on the Puntledge Diversion Dam

The Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) is encouraging residents connected to the Comox Valley water system to conserve water during a fish screen cleaning scheduled for March 30 to April 2 at the Puntledge diversion dam.

The fish screen is positioned in the BC Hydro penstock at the Puntledge diversion dam, and requires up to three cleanings per year to maintain efficiency and to benefit salmon. This dam is where the water is diverted from the river, about 3.7 kilometres downstream of the Comox dam, into a pipeline that travels five kilometres to the generating station and back into the river. The purpose of the screen is to divert fish that get pulled into the intake and safely deposit them back into the Puntledge River.

During these four days the CVRD will be required to pump water directly from the Puntledge River and not the BC Hydro pipeline.

“The CVRD is not expecting to move to a higher stage of restrictions given the short duration and the time of year,” said Koreen Gurak, CVRD’s manager of communications. “However, we’re asking residents to do their part to conserve water to ensure that flows remain as low as possible.”

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